Fool
by VickyVicarious
Summary: Will's an utter idiot in love.


Written for the prompt "upside-down kiss." Pre-Wonderland.

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><p>Will's an utter idiot in love.<p>

Oh, he's been stupid before - there's no doubt about _that_. But it was never on this scale, never reached this regularity before Anastasia walked into his life, pink dress and ponytail and lips curving up into a smile only when her mother's back is turned.

There's something about that smile. He wants to see it always, wants to make her _laugh_, and he does, he goes to ridiculous, extreme, downright _silly_ lengths to do so, because something about Ana's smile makes his breath catch and his heart beat harder and every other cliche in the book, he falls in love with her smile first.

And she smiles with him, she does - when he brings her flowers or filched pastries, even a pink ribbon once and she kisses him and uses it to tie back her hair before kissing him again, grinning widely – she _does_ smile with him. But she's not always with him is the thing, and her mother is a bloody harridan, transforms Ana's every grin into a sort of awful pretty grimace, and Will hates it. He wants to erase that look from Ana's face forever, to rid her of any need for artifice, because they don't have to pretend to be anything else than themselves when they're together, they love each other for who they _are_ and he wants that to be enough.

It's not, yet. Won't be, can't be until they can get away from Anastasia's damn _mother_, always planting her full of doubts and fear and chasing every smile off her lips before it can get comfortable there. So, in the meantime, until they can go somewhere, anywhere else –

In the meantime, Will's an eager fool.

He waits until she's only a few feet away before taking a deep breath and letting himself fall backwards with a "hup!" Clenches his legs tight around the tree-branch holding him suspended in the air, and grins at the way Ana jumps back a full step in shock.

"Will! What are you _doing?_" she gasps, but there's a pleased little giggle hiding in her voice, which already makes waiting in this bloody tree for an hour well worth it. Her mother was a right beast to her yesterday, and… perhaps more than even Ana herself, _Will_ needs to see her smiling again.

"Anastasia?" He says, feigning surprise, and if he didn't know already that he's a bloody terrible actor, the look on her face would confirm it. "What are you doing here?"

She doesn't even bother to retort, just crosses her arms and lets a hip jut out, tilts her head at him in a tolerantly exasperated way and it makes his entire chest clutch up, _gods_, when did he start loving her this much?

"Ah, nevermind," Will says, and holds out his handful of bedraggled wildflowers. "Hold this for me, would ya?"

Her stare looks downright _fond_ now, her lips twitching up at the corners. "Really?" she asks, but she's already stepping forward (and Will, despite himself, feels nerves building, a lump forming in his throat).

"Yeah," he mutters as she flips the flowers rightside up again, holding them up to her nose for a sniff, "I need both hands for this."

And then he reaches out, places his hands on her cheeks. Gently tilts her head up, takes a deep breath – presses a soft, gentle upside-down kiss to her mouth.

For a moment, she doesn't move at all. Then she _smiles_, he can feel it against his lips, and kisses him back, lifts a hand to rest delicately against his jaw and he slides his thumbs across her cheeks, kisses her again, off-center with his nose brushing against her chin, keeps kissing her, warm and slow and _bloody hell_, his heart's going wild in his chest, the blood is rushing to his head –

"Bloody hell, I'm getting dizzy," he mutters, breaking free of the kiss, and Ana giggles (and his heart doesn't _stop_, quite, but it's too close for comfort). "Oh, this was a bad idea. Ana – help me down, would you?" She keeps giggling, bites her lip and she's holding the flowers to her chest in one hand, and it's ridiculously pretty but he needs a little help sitting up here, so: "Oi, before I pass out would be nice!"

She rolls her eyes, but helps shove him upwards until he can grab onto the branch with his hands and get down safely, _finally_, definitely bruising himself in the process.

"_Thank_ you," he says sarcastically.

"You're an idiot, Will Scarlet," Ana replies, but she's grinning, and then she tugs his head down for a proper upside-up kiss, and she doesn't let go until he feels just as dizzy as before, completely ready to fall over into that meadow there and take her with him and not get up for at least a week, so he's not really bothered.

It's true, anyway. He _is_ an idiot, and quite happy to be one, if only she'll just keep smiling like this a little longer.

He'll do anything for this to last.


End file.
